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Falcons draft son of AFL commissioner

FLOWERY BRANCH - Sam Baker wasn't expecting to be drafted in the first round on Saturday.

On the other hand, Baker wasn't worried he'd drop so far in the NFL draft that he'd have to call his father for a job.

Baker, a four-year starting left tackle at Southern California, is the son of Arena Football League commissioner David Baker.

The Falcons drafted Baker with the No. 21 pick in the first round after acquiring the selection in a trade with Washington.

"I anticipated going later in the draft," Baker said. "I was pretty surprised."

The Falcons gave the Redskins two second-round picks and a fourth-round pick. They obtained the first-round pick used on Baker as well as picks in the third and fifth rounds.

"We really think he'll be a cornerstone for us on the offensive line to protect our quarterback and also open up holes in our running game," said Falcons coach Mike Smith.

Baker visited Atlanta on April 7.

"I knew I wanted to go to the Falcons," he said. "They traded up to get me. Maybe they felt someone else was going to take me. I believe in myself as a player and I think I can help the team so I'm ready to go."

Some draft experts said Baker (6-5, 314) may lack the size to play left tackle in the NFL.

Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff said Baker is a "legitimate" left tackle. He said he believes Baker has the potential to play other positions but will work first at left tackle.

Baker might have been the second offensive tackle drafted last year, but he missed three games and parts of two other games with broken ribs and a torn hamstring as a senior. The injuries hurt his draft standing.

Baker then endured the prodding and scrutiny of the NFL combine with his sense of humor intact.

"If it wasn't for the combine and all that, I wouldn't have known I had short arms," Baker said. "I always thought I had long arms."

Baker said he has been in Atlanta for a Georgia Force AFL game. He's an AFL fan, as might be expected of the son of the league's commissioner.

"I love it," he said. "I've been watching those games since I was about 12 years old. I grew up on it.

Baker and his father were working out at a gym when he received the call from general manager Thomas Dimitroff that he had been drafted by the Falcons.

"He said 'No matter where, don't let your draft position change who you are, whether you're the last pick or the first pick,"' Baker said of his father's advice.

Baker said his father is a fan of Arthur Blank, the owner of the Falcons and the Georgia Force.

"I was going to be proud of Sam regardless of when he was drafted because he is just as good a person as he is a football player," said David Baker.

"However, I am thrilled that he will be playing for such a quality organization as the Atlanta Falcons, which is filled with people of integrity, from Arthur Blank to (team president) Rich McKay to (vice president) Dick Sullivan to Thomas Dimitroff to Mike Smith."